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Usain Bolt has smashed the Olympic record for the 100 meter sprint as he stormed home for a gold medal in a time of 9.63 seconds.

The fastest man on earth retains his Olympic title, and he did it in the most emphatic way. At the half way point the race was evenly split, but Bolt turned on the burners and streamed away from the pack to finish with clear distance between him and the best of the rest.

Countrymen Yohan Blake came in second with a time of 9.75 seconds but there was clear distance between the two sprinters as Bolt showed he is still the top sprinter on Earth.

The United States' Justin Gatlin secured a bronze medal in third place with a time of 9.79 seconds, and that would have been the highest most would have expected him to achieve coming into the Olympics considering the competition and being up against Bolt and Blake. Some may have wondered whether Gatlin could have upset the field having come through fastest in the semi finals, but Blake and Bolt showed their class by taking a gold silver finish for Jamaica.

The race was conducted in front of 80,000 fans in the Olympic stadium, and everyone there was standing and cheering emphatically as Bolt made Olympic history.

The gold secures Bolt's first gold, but he will be hoping for more. He will be competing in the 200 meters sprint, as well as the 4x100 meter relays later on in the week. Bolt will be hoping he can complete the triple and sweep the board with three golds.

Bolt becomes only the second man to ever retain the 100 meter sprint Olympic championship, with Carl Lewis being the only man to ever have done that before. There may be more history made by this man before the week is out at London 2012.